Sustainable Development and Public Sector Reform

The overall objective of public management reforms is to add value to the output and impact of public administrations activities. Shifting from an input- and cost-oriented governance to a management by objectives regarding output or impact is the most important strategy of new public management. Focusing the political governance on the strategic level and thus increasing flexibility on the implementation side is an additional objective. However, these reforms are not limited to accounting and controlling systems but represent cultural changes for civil servants and politicians as well. This takes time and needs careful monitoring. Moreover, changing a management system is an opportunity to reevaluate the content and the framework of policies as well.